On this day | February 28th

On this day: February 28th

Credit/Source: Wikipedia

202 BC Emperor Gaozu of Han is enthroned as the Emperor of China, beginning four centuries of rule by the Han dynasty.

870 The Fourth Council of Constantinople (Roman Catholic) closes.

1525 Aztec king Cuauhtémoc is executed on the order of conquistador Hernán Cortés.

1638 The Scottish National Covenant is signed in Edinburgh.

1835 Elias Lönnrot signed and dated the first version of the ''Kalevala'', the so-called foreword to the ''Old Kalevala''.

1844 A gun USS Princeton disaster of 1844 the steam warship ''USS Princeton (1843)'' during a pleasure cruise down the Potomac River, killing six, including Secretary of State Abel P. Upshur. President John Tyler, who was also on board, was not injured from the blast.

1922 The United Kingdom ends its protectorate over Egypt through a Unilateral Declaration of Egyptian Independence.

1925 The 1925 Charlevoix–Kamouraska earthquake strikes northeastern North America.

1947 February 28 incident: In Taiwan, civil disorder is put down with the death of an estimated 28,000 civilians.

1948 The 1948 Accra riots erupted following a march by ex-servicemen of the Gold Coast Regiment towards the seat of the colonial government at Osu Castle where they were fired upon by Superintendant Colin Imray leading to the killing of Cornelius Francis Adjetey, Patrick Attipoe and Odartey Lamptey and the arrest of The Big Six (Ghana) in the Gold Coast (British colony).

1958 A school bus in Floyd County, Kentucky hits a wrecker truck and plunges down an embankment into the rain-swollen Levisa Fork river. The driver and 26 children die in Prestonsburg, Kentucky, bus crash in U.S. history.

1959 ''Discoverer 1'', an American spy satellite that is the first object intended to achieve a polar orbit, is launched but fails to achieve orbit.

1966 A NASA Northrop T-38 Talon 1966 NASA T-38 crash while attempting a poor-visibility landing at Lambert Field, St. Louis, killing astronauts Elliot See and Charles Bassett.

1969 The 1969 Portugal earthquake hits Portugal, Spain and Morocco.

1973 Aeroflot Flight X-167 crashes during takeoff from Semey Airport, killing 32 people.

1974 The February 1974 United Kingdom general election ended in a hung parliament after the Jeremy Thorpe-led Liberal Party (UK) achieved their biggest vote share since 1929.

1975 In London, an underground train Moorgate tube crash at Moorgate terminus station and crashes into the end of the tunnel, killing 43 people.

1983 The Goodbye, Farewell and Amen of ''MASH (TV series)'' airs, with almost 110 million viewers.

1985 The Provisional Irish Republican Army carries out a 1985 Newry mortar attack on the Royal Ulster Constabulary police station at Newry, killing nine officers.

1986 Olof Palme, 26th Prime Minister of Sweden, is Assassination of Olof Palme.

1990 Space Shuttle Atlantis is launched on STS-36.

1993 Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) agents Waco siege the Branch Davidian church in Waco, Texas with a warrant to arrest the group's leader David Koresh, starting a Waco siege.

1997 An 1997 Ardabil earthquake in northern Iran is responsible for about 1,100 deaths.

1997 A 1997 Turkish military memorandum resulted in the collapse of the coalition government in Turkey.

2001 The 2001 Nisqually earthquake, having a moment magnitude scale of 6.8, with epicenter in the southern Puget Sound, damages Seattle metropolitan area.

2002 During the 2002 Gujarat riots, 97 people are killed in the Naroda Patiya massacre and 69 in the Gulbarg Society massacre.

2013 Pope Benedict XVI Resignation of Pope Benedict XVI as the pope of the Catholic Church, becoming the first pope to do so since Pope Gregory XII in 1415.

2023 Tempi train crash south of the Vale of Tempe in Greece, leading to the deaths of at least 57 people and leaving 58 missing and 85 injured.

2024 – Prime minister Narendra Modi of India inaugurated the 2nd Spaceport of India - Kulasekarapattinam Spaceport.

1261 Margaret of Scotland, Queen of Norway (d. 1283)

1518 Francis III, Duke of Brittany, Duke of Brittany (d. 1536)

1533 Michel de Montaigne, French philosopher and author (d. 1592)

1535 Cornelius Gemma, Dutch astronomer and astrologer (d. 1578)

1552 Jost Bürgi, Swiss mathematician and clockmaker (d. 1632)

1675 Guillaume Delisle, French cartographer (d. 1726)

1683 René Antoine Ferchault de Réaumur, French entomologist and academic (d. 1757)

1704 Louis Godin, French astronomer and academic (d. 1760)

1848 Arthur Giry, French historian and academic (d. 1899)

1858 Tore Svennberg, Swedish actor and director (d. 1941)

1866 Vyacheslav Ivanov (poet), Russian poet and playwright (d. 1949)

1878 Pierre Fatou, French mathematician and astronomer (d. 1929)

1884 Ants Piip, Estonian lawyer and politician, 7th Prime Minister of Estonia (d. 1942)

1887 William Zorach, Lithuanian-American sculptor and painter (d. 1966)

1894 Ben Hecht, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1964)

1896 Philip Showalter Hench, American physician and endocrinologist, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine laureate (d. 1965)

1898 Zeki Rıza Sporel, Turkish footballer (d. 1969)

1901 Linus Pauling, American chemist and activist, Nobel Prize in Chemistry laureate (d. 1994)

1903 Vincente Minnelli, American theatre and film director (d. 1986)

1906 Bugsy Siegel, American gangster (d. 1947)

1907 Milton Caniff, American cartoonist (d. 1988)

1908 Billie Bird, American actress (d. 2002)

1909 Stephen Spender, English author and poet (d. 1995)

1915 Ketti Frings, American author, playwright, and screenwriter (d. 1981)

1915 Peter Medawar, Brazilian-English biologist and immunologist, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine laureate (d. 1987)

1919 Alfred Marshall (businessman), American businessman, founded Marshalls (d. 2013)

1920 Jadwiga Piłsudska, Polish soldier, pilot, and architect (d. 2014)

1921 Marah Halim Harahap, Indonesian military officer, Governor of North Sumatra (d. 2015)

1922 Radu Câmpeanu, Romanian politician (d. 2016)

1923 Charles Durning, American actor (d. 2012)

1924 Robert A. Roe, American soldier and politician (d. 2014)

1925 Harry H. Corbett, Burmese-English actor (d. 1982)

1926 Svetlana Alliluyeva, Russian-American writer, daughter of Joseph Stalin (d. 2011)

1928 Tom Aldredge, American actor (d. 2011)

1928 Stanley Baker, Welsh actor and producer (d. 1976)

1929 Hayden Fry, American football player and coach (d. 2019)

1929 Frank Gehry, Canadian-American architect and designer

1929 John Montague (poet), American-Irish poet and academic (d. 2016)

1930 Leon Cooper, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize in Physics laureate (d. 2024)

1931 Peter Alliss, English golfer and sportscaster (d. 2020)

1931 Gavin MacLeod, American actor, Christian activist, and author (d. 2021)

1931 Len Newcombe, Welsh footballer and scout (d. 1996)

1932 Don Francks, Canadian actor, singer, and jazz musician (d. 2016)

1932 Ernst Hinterseer, Austria retired alpine skier

1933 Rein Taagepera, Estonian political scientist and politician

1937 Jeff Farrell, American swimmer

1939 Daniel C. Tsui, Chinese-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize in Physics laureate

1939 Tommy Tune, American actor, dancer, singer, theatre director, producer, and choreographer

1940 Mario Andretti, Italian-American racing driver

1941 – Alice Brock, American artist, author and restaurateur (d. 2024)

1942 Frank Bonner, American actor and television director (d. 2021)

1942 Brian Jones, English guitarist, songwriter, and producer (d. 1969)

1942 Oliviero Toscani, Italian photographer (d. 2025)

1942 Dino Zoff, Italian footballer

1943 Barbara Acklin, American singer-songwriter (d. 1998)

1944 Kelly Bishop, American actress

1944 Edward Greenspan, Canadian lawyer and author (d. 2014)

1944 Sepp Maier, German footballer and manager

1944 Storm Thorgerson, English graphic designer (d. 2013)

1945 Bubba Smith, American football player and actor (d. 2011)

1946 Robin Cook, Scottish educator and politician, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (d. 2005)

1946 Syreeta Wright, American singer-songwriter (d. 2004)

1947 Stephanie Beacham, English actress

1947 Salvador Flamenco, Salvadoran footballer

1948 Steven Chu, American physicist and politician, 12th United States Secretary of Energy, Nobel Prize in Physics laureate

1948 Mike Figgis, English film director, screenwriter, and composer

1948 Bernadette Peters, American actress, singer, and author

1948 Mercedes Ruehl, American actress

1949 Zoia Ceaușescu, Romanian mathematician, daughter of Communist leader Nicolae Ceaușescu and his wife Elena Ceaușescu (d. 2006)

1949 Ilene Graff, American actress and singer

1953 Luther Burden, American basketball player (d. 2015)

1953 Paul Krugman, American economist and academic, Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences laureate

1953 Ricky Steamboat, American professional wrestler

1954 Brian Billick, American football player, coach, and sportscaster

1955 Adrian Dantley, American basketball player and coach

1955 Gilbert Gottfried, American comedian, actor, and singer (d. 2022)

1956 Francis Hughes, Irish Republican, hunger striker (d. 1981)

1956 Terry Leahy, English businessman

1957 Ainsley Harriott, English chef and television presenter

1957 Ian Smith (New Zealand cricketer), New Zealand cricketer and sportscaster

1957 John Turturro, American actor and director

1957 Cindy Wilson, American singer-songwriter

1958 Manuel Torres Félix, Mexican criminal and narcotics trafficker (d. 2012)

1958 Mark Pavelich, American ice hockey player (d. 2021)

1958 David R. Ross, Scottish historian and author (d. 2010)

1961 Rae Dawn Chong, Canadian-American actress

1961 Barry McGuigan, Irish-British boxer

1963 Claudio Chiappucci, Italian cyclist

1965 Mikko Mäkelä (ice hockey), Finnish ice hockey player and coach

1966 Paulo Futre, Portuguese footballer

1966 Archbishop Jovan VI of Ohrid

1967 Colin Cooper, English footballer and manager

1967 Seth Rudetsky, American musician, actor, writer, and radio host

1969 Sean Farrell (footballer), English footballer

1969 Butch Leitzinger, American race car driver

1969 Robert Sean Leonard, American actor

1969 Pat Monahan, American singer-songwriter and actor

1970 Daniel Brochu, Canadian actor

1970 Daniel Handler, American author, musician, screenwriter, and producer

1970 Noureddine Morceli, Algerian runner

1971 Junya Nakano, Japanese pianist and composer

1971 Tasha Smith, American actress, director, and producer

1972 Rory Cochrane, American actor

1972 Ville Haapasalo, Finnish actor and screenwriter

1973 Eric Lindros, Canadian ice hockey player

1973 Nicolas Minassian, French race car driver

1973 Masato Tanaka, Japanese wrestler

1974 Lee Carsley, English-Irish footballer and manager

1974 Alexander Zickler, German footballer and manager

1975 Mike Rucker, American football player

1976 Francisco Elson, Dutch basketball player

1976 Ali Larter, American actress and model

1977 Jason Aldean, American singer-songwriter

1977 Lance Hoyt, American football player and wrestler

1978 Geoffrey Arend, American actor

1978 Benjamin Raich, Austrian skier

1978 Jamaal Tinsley, American basketball player

1978 Mariano Zabaleta, Argentinian tennis player

1979 Sébastien Bourdais, French race car driver

1979 Ivo Karlović, Croatian tennis player

1980 Pascal Bosschaart, Dutch footballer

1980 Christian Poulsen, Danish footballer

1980 Tayshaun Prince, American basketball player

1981 Brian Bannister, American baseball player and scout

1982 Isabel Mendes Lopes, Portuguese politician

1982 Natalia Vodianova, Russian-French model and actress

1984 Karolína Kurková, Czech model and actress

1984 Ali Marhyar, French actor, film director and screenwriter

1985 Tim Bresnan, English cricketer

1985 Diego (footballer, born 1985), Brazilian footballer

1985 Jelena Janković, Serbian tennis player

1987 Akito (wrestler), Japanese professional wrestler

1987 Antonio Candreva, Italian footballer

1987 Michelle Horn, American actress

1987 Josh McRoberts, American basketball player

1988 Aroldis Chapman, Cuban baseball player

1989 Carlos Dunlap, American football player

1989 Charles Jenkins (basketball), American basketball player

1990 Takayasu Akira, Japanese sumo wrestler

1990 Ryan Allen (American football), American football player

1990 Sebastian Rudy, German footballer

1991 Sarah Bolger, Irish actress

1991 Ronalds Ķēniņš, Latvian ice hockey player

1993 Marquis Teague, American basketball player

1993 Éder Álvarez Balanta, Colombian footballer

1994 Alex Caruso, American basketball player

1994 Arkadiusz Milik, Polish footballer

1995 Randy Arozarena, Cuban-Mexican baseball player

1995 Madisen Beaty, American actress

1995 Quinn Shephard, American actress

1996 Bobb'e J. Thompson, American actor

1996 Jakub Vrána, Czech ice hockey player

1996 Lucas Boyé, Argentinian footballer

1996 Axel Werner, Argentinian footballer

1997 Chris Lindstrom, American football player

1998 Teun Koopmeiners, Dutch footballer

1999 Luka Dončić, Slovenian basketball player

2000 Moise Kean, Italian footballer

2000 Josip Šutalo, Croatian footballer

2005 Vitor Roque, Brazilian footballer

628 Khosrow II, Shah of Iran, Sasanian Empire (b. )

1621 Cosimo II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (b. 1590)

1740 Pietro Ottoboni (cardinal), Italian cardinal and patron of the arts (b. 1667)

1857 André Dumont (geologist), Belgian geologist and academic (b. 1809)

1882 Adolf Zytogorski, Polish-British chess master and translator (b. )

1929 Clemens von Pirquet, Austrian physician and immunologist (b. 1874)

1932 Guillaume Bigourdan, French astronomer and academic (b. 1851)

1936 Charles Nicolle, French biologist and academic, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine laureate (b. 1866)

1955 Isak Penttala, Finnish politician (b. 1883)

1966 Charles Bassett, American captain, engineer, and astronaut (b. 1931)

1966 Elliot See, American commander, engineer, and astronaut (b. 1927)

1975 Neville Cardus, English cricket and music writer (b. 1888)

1977 Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, American actor and comedian (b. 1905)

1978 Zara Cully, American actress (b. 1892)

1993 Ruby Keeler, Canadian-American actress and dancer (b. 1909)

1998 Arkady Shevchenko, Ukrainian diplomat (b. 1930)

2002 Mary Stuart (actress), American actress and singer (b. 1926)

2002 Helmut Zacharias, German violinist and composer (b. 1920)

2003 Chris Brasher, Guyanese-English runner and journalist, co-founded the London Marathon (b. 1928)

2004 Daniel J. Boorstin, American historian and librarian (b. 1914)

2005 Chris Curtis (musician), English singer and drummer (b. 1941)

2006 Owen Chamberlain, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize in Physics laureate (b. 1920)

2007 Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. American historian and critic (b. 1917)

2009 Paul Harvey, American radio host (b. 1918)

2011 Annie Girardot, French actress (b. 1931)

2013 Donald A. Glaser, American physicist and biologist, Nobel Prize in Physics laureate (b. 1926)

2014 Hugo Brandt Corstius, Dutch linguist and author (b. 1935)

2015 Yaşar Kemal, Turkish journalist and author (b. 1923)

2016 George Kennedy, American actor (b. 1925)

2019 André Previn, German-American pianist, conductor, and composer. (b. 1929)

2020 Joe Coulombe, founder of Trader Joe's (b. 1930)

2020 Freeman Dyson, British-born American physicist and mathematician (b. 1923)

2020 Lenox Hewitt, Australian public servant (b. 1917)

2024 Ahmed Salim (murderer), Bangladeshi convicted murderer (b. 1989)

2024 Cat Janice, American singer-songwriter (b. 1993)

Christian Calendar of saints:

- February 28 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

Kalevala Day, also known as the ''Finnish Culture Day'' (Finland)

National Science Day (India)

Peace Memorial Day (Taiwan)

Andalusia Day (Spain)

[http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/february/28 BBC: On This Day]

[https://www.onthisday.com/events/february/28 Historical Events on February 28]